BlizzCon 2026 Opening Ceremony recap and live blog—what's next for Warcraft
BlizzCon 2026 kicked off on Saturday with the Opening Ceremony at 10:30 am PT, where we got major announcements about what the next several years hold for Blizzard. The festivities can be viewed in the player above, or…
BlizzCon 2026 kicked off on Saturday with the Opening Ceremony at 10:30 am PT, where we got major announcements about what the next several years hold for Blizzard. The festivities can be viewed in the player above, or on YouTube here.
There were rumors that a new StarCraft game would be announced, and yep, it's an open world shooter but it's still years away. There was also lots of chatter about a possible new spin on World of Warcraft: Classic, which was revealed as WoW: Forever.
I'm on scene at the convention in Anaheim, and cataloged the big news from the Opening Ceremony in the live blog below. I'll continue to add tidbits here and there as the event continues, and look for deeper coverage on PC Gamer throughout the coming week.
September 12, 2026 – 10:36 AMRTS or FPS?
A StarCraft FPS has been rumored for a bit now, but speculation has also gone on regarding the possibility of a new StarCraft RTS. If you can only have one, which are you picking?
September 12, 2026 – 10:46 AMIf there were any doubt...
...That a StarCraft announcement is imminent, its presence on a huge banner among Blizzard's other major series may put that to rest. I was also handed this mini when I checked in:
September 12, 2026 – 12:31 PMThe livestream has come to life with an hour to go before showtime. I've opted to cover the Opening Ceremony from my hotel room, because when you get a hotel room with decent wi-fi, you don't want to squander that.
That means I don't have any exciting photos from inside the theater to share, but here's a shot of the crowd working its way through security. (I'm going back to my dim, air conditioned room now.)
September 12, 2026 – 1:08 PMIt's all about legacy these days
It's no accident that there's a CRT monitor on set for this pre-show stream. Microsoft has clearly communicated a desire to return to and build on its past glories. Gears of War: E-Day is an Xbox exclusive on console, there are a bunch of Fallout games in the works, and Bethesda's under pressure to hurry up and get The Elder Scrolls 6 out the door.
Meanwhile, some risky original projects have been cancelled in recent years, namely a ZeniMax MMO and a Blizzard survival game, and the big rumors heading into BlizzCon relate to oldies: StarCraft and World of Warcraft: Classic.
Blizzard is certainly playing around with generative AI behind the scenes: The studio's associate director of applied science, Zhen Zhai, spoke at a GDC panel titled "AI Trends of Today and Opportunities for Tomorrow" that I attended earlier this year. But when facing the public, I think we can expect a lot of this nostalgic imagery, not just from Blizzard but the industry at large. The '90s were fun. Remember Bawlz?
I like the live music performance going on here, with the cool Nord keyboard. I've become a keyboard and synthesizer nerd recently, so I can now say judgey stuff like that I prefer the key action on Yamahas (based on mashing the keys of Guitar Center demo units), but those red Nord chassis are so cool.
September 12, 2026 – 1:22 PMA look inside the theater
Here's a view from inside the event from PC Gamer contributor Heather Newman. Just a few minutes to go.
September 12, 2026 – 1:37 PMWe're off to the usual start: A montage of Blizzard games (the phrase "it's about time" once again teases a new StarCraft game) and an address from Blizzard president Johanna Faries, who says that she wants this weekend to serve as an "oasis" and a "place to connect and reconnect, perhaps to heal." Big emphasis on "times being tough" for people in general.
September 12, 2026 – 1:42 PMA new Heroes of the Storm character? In the year of our lord 2026?
It's true. Xal'atath, The Harbinger of the Void is the first new hero for the MOBA in six years. From what I've heard, it sounds like Blizzard is going to feel out the reaction before it decides whether to breathe more life into the game, which stopped receiving content updates in 2022.
Xal'atath will join the PTR on Monday, and release on September 28.
September 12, 2026 – 1:44 PMAn animated Diablo series is coming to Netflix
Blizzard president Johanna Faries announced the series, and teased that shows may also be in the works for Overwatch and Warcraft.
Here's the official press brief for the Diablo show:
"After decades of bringing entire universes to life through our games, we’re partnering with some creative powerhouses to tell even more stories beyond gaming across new screens. A new animated series set in the world of Diablo® is in development with Netflix. More details will be shared in the future, but this is only the beginning, with even more taking shape across our universes."
September 12, 2026 – 1:48 PMThe StarCraft game is an open world shooter
As expected, a new StarCraft game was announced:
- It's an open world shooter
- It's just called "StarCraft"
- It's not out until 2030
Given Microsoft's proven ability to cancel videogames, it's hard to believe with any certainty that a game scheduled to release four years from now is in fact going to release four years from now. Who knows what the games industry looks like by then?
But, to take a more optimistic perspective, the cinematic was cool. I wonder how the hardcore StarCraft fans are feeling. Glad that anything StarCraft is happening? Disappointed that it isn't an RTS? What do you think about it?
September 12, 2026 – 2:07 PMA bunch of Overwatch reveals
The Overwatch team hit us with a cinematic for Act Three of its current year-long story arc, the reveal of a new hero, Doctrine, as well as of a new Icelandic prison map, Grímsvötn.
We also learned that Roadhog is next up for a revamp, fashioning him into a tank that will "actually be able to help out his team," as Blizzard put it. Sombra's also being turned into a support character.
Blizzard mentioned as well that the next Overwatch Spotlight event will take place in February 2027. At the last Spotlight this past February, Blizzard announced its current story arc and that it would release 10 new heroes throughout the year, including five that it dropped right away. So, big things again in February, probably.
Oh, and Matt Mercer is doing a live Overwatch TTRPG session at BlizzCon, so that's fun. They'll be auctioning off collectables for charity, as well.
September 12, 2026 – 2:14 PMStay awhile and listen...
Deckard Cain will appear in Diablo 4 as part of its series anniversary celebration, which will bring players back to classic Diablo locations. Baal, Mephisto, Diablo, will also feature.
September 12, 2026 – 2:20 PMDiablo 5 announced 👀
Now here's an announcement I didn't expect before I arrived at the show. Here's what I know:
- Diablo 5 is scheduled to release in Spring 2029
- It takes place about a century after Diablo 4
- We're not trying to prevent the apocalypse; this time, it's already happened
- The Lord of Terror (aka Diablo himself) is back, and he won
"The heroes are gone, Sanctuary has fallen, and Diablo has won. For the first time, you won't be fighting to stop Diablo from taking Sanctuary. You'll enter a world where he already has. There are no towns or safe places waiting to protect you."
There'll be more info at a panel later today.
Diablo 4 will be getting the Amazon class next year, and Blizzard talked about the next season, but no new expansion was announced. Is the development focus now turning to Diablo 5? We'll put that question to Blizzard this weekend.
September 12, 2026 – 2:32 PMHearthstone is getting its first new class in six years
We saw the next Hearthstone expansion, Reign of the Black Empire, which takes place "thousands of years in Azeroth's past," and launches on October 20. The expansion's new keyword looks fun: "Assemble" merges the text of two cards for potentially absurd effects.
But the biggest news is the Monk, the first new class for the CCG in over half-a-decade.
September 12, 2026 – 2:36 PMWoW Midnight Patch 12.2 revealed
It's "all gas, no brakes" from here on out for World of Warcraft's Worldsoul Saga, we're told. The next big content update for Midnight (Patch 12.2) is called Eclipse.
The next expansion, The Last Titan, got a mention and teaser, but not too many details. Eclipse will help set the stage for the expansion, which will "bring an extraordinary chapter of WoW to a close, while laying the groundwork for what's next."
September 12, 2026 – 2:48 PMWarcraft 3 is getting a new campaign today
Here's another one I didn't see coming: Blizzard has announced a new Warcraft 3 expansion, the first in 23 years, and it's out today.
It's called Warcraft 3: Forsaken Kingdom, and is dropping alongside a free Warcraft 3 Reforged 3.0 update.
September 12, 2026 – 2:55 PMWorld of Warcraft: Forever launches on November 4
The rumored "WoW Classic Plus" is real. It's a new branch that, like Classic, restarts the MMO back in its first year. Unlike Classic, though, the idea is not just to turn back the clock, but also to bring new stories into the WoW timeline.
A beta starts on Thursday, and it's playable here at BlizzCon. The release date is November 4.
"This is a new opportunity to get back to what the heart is of MMOs, and what makes them so damn special," said WoW executive producer Holly Longdale.
Blizzard has told me that WoW: Forever adds three new zones and overhauls some of the existing ones, introduces a new Skyborne Elves race, and adds over 1,000 quests, two new raids, and nine new dungeons—you'll see this stuff and more teased in the gameplay trailer below.
My understanding is that Forever will explore parts of the map that weren't filled in during WoW's original run, covering events that happened parallel to the main storyline (and possibly stories that "didn't happen at all," says Longdale).
For the time being, time will be suspended in that first year of WoW's life, with a 60 level cap, but the setup creates the possibility of future expansions that diverge from the original ones.
September 12, 2026 – 3:14 PMOpening Ceremony is over! I'm now heading into the convention center to meet up with the rest of our on-site crew and learn more about these announcements. More to come.
September 12, 2026 – 6:32 PMNo more Diablo 4 expansions planned
There was a Diablo 5 panel this afternoon, which we'll have details from soon. In the meantime, we were able to learn more about what's going to happen with Diablo 4 now that it's got a sequel incoming.
No more expansions are currently planned for Diablo 4, but it will continue to get seasons that set up the story of Diablo 5, which takes place in a Sanctuary that has been fully conquered by Diablo.
"The events of Diablo 5 happen 100 years after everything that's happening with Diablo 4, and so that gives us a lot of room to kind of still ride the wave with all the fans on where the story can go as we make our way there," Diablo 4 game director Brent Gibson told us. "So continuity is something that we're really excited about, but we don't necessarily have a perfect picture on exactly where that's going to go because we want to see how fans are reacting season to season."
Gibson also indicated that Diablo 4 won't be abandoned after Diablo 5 launches in 2029.
"I think you can expect that—you know, Diablo 4 players, they love the game, there's tons of them out there," he said. "We're continuing to support the game for a very long time."
September 12, 2026 – 7:54 PMDiablo 5 sounds substantially different from Diablo 4
Blizzard has given us more on what to expect from Diablo 5 in a 30-minute panel, with the caveat that everything is subject to change during development. (They don't plan to release it until 2029, after all.)
The devs were serious when they said the apocalypse had come to Sanctuary: There are no more towns, and instead there'll be a "band of followers" traveling with you as a caravan. The dungeons and overworld will be procedurally generated again, too.
There's a lot more to digest; Tyler Colp has listed out the big details here.
September 13, 2026 – 2:53 PMStarCraft is a story-driven shooter with "a beginning, a middle, and an end"
In a group interview with Korean media, StarCraft GM Dan Hay said that the new StarCraft game is "a narrative-driven open world shooter where players create a character, name them, and follow that character's story."
Hay also said that it is "not a seasonal game." He didn't explicitly rule out a multiplayer component (I will try to get a question in about this), but made it clear that the missions will tell a linear story with "a beginning, a middle, and an end." In between those missions, we'll be able to "roam around and explore a rich open world."
September 13, 2026 – 4:29 PMSo many Murlocs
March of the Murlocs is a pretty self-explanatory BlizzCon tradition: A bunch of people put on Murloc onesies and march around. Above is a photo of their final gathering spot that I captured from the top of the convention center. It isn't even all the Murlocs.
September 13, 2026 – 6:57 PMDiablo 5's caravan system is meant to 'up the stakes' by giving us something to lose
I attended a Diablo 5 group interview this afternoon with Diablo 5 executive producer Matt Zitterman, narrative director Jennifer Hepler, and game director Joe Shely. No big revelations, but we heard more about the thinking behind the post-apocalyptic setting and the caravan that will follow you around, replacing towns.
Here's Helper on that:
To me there was always the tiniest bit of disconnect in Diablo, where you know you're out in the overworld and you're fighting hordes of demons just to get across the street, and then you get to a town, and people are living their lives somehow, and the demons just wait politely outside for you to kill them on your schedule.
And so when Joe [Shely] pitched the idea of doing this post-apocalyptic version of Sanctuary, where there is no safety other than what you create, it felt like a really pure version of Diablo. Like it is going to be the world where everything is Diablo gameplay, other than the safety that you can bring with you.
And then that also offers this incredible, rich opportunity for storytelling because you're not going to a different vendor in every town and turning it into a purely rote thing. Instead, we can make these into real characters who have stories of their own that give you a wider view of the entire story of Diablo's invasion and the consequences of that.
And then that also gives you something to lose. If you think about the Lord of Terror, what are gamers terrified of? They're not terrified that they're going to lose the next fight. You have to give them something to lose to be scared of. And so, giving you people and a community that belongs to you really felt like it upped the stakes in a way that we were really excited about.
September 13, 2026 – 7:46 PMPhotos from the show floor
There are some impressive statues and props scattered across the show floor (plus a lot of fog machine fog). Here are some shots from my camera.